How to Evict a Tenant in Turkey: A Landlord's Guide to Grounds and Deadlines

By Av. Talha Yayla · October 29, 2026 · 16 min read

A landlord in Turkey (Türkiye) cannot end a residential lease simply because its term has expired. The lease renews automatically every year unless the tenant leaves, and the landlord may evict only on a ground listed in the Code of Obligations (Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, Art. 347, 354). The grounds are: unpaid rent after a written notice giving at least thirty days; two justified written warnings for late rent in one rental year; a written undertaking by the tenant to vacate on a specific date; the genuine housing or business need of the landlord or a close relative; essential reconstruction; the need of a new owner; and, after ten renewal years, termination without a reason on three months' notice. Almost every ground has a one-month window in which the landlord must act.

Foreign owners who let property in Turkey are often surprised by how strongly the tenant is protected and how exact the landlord's deadlines are. A notice sent a week late, or an undertaking signed on the wrong day, loses a year. This guide sets out each eviction ground from the landlord's side, the procedure, and the mistakes to avoid. The tenant's perspective is covered in our guide to tenant rights in Turkey.

Automatic renewal: the lease is extended for one year on the same terms unless the tenant gives notice at least 15 days before expiry (Art. 347).
No termination for expiry by the landlord — until ten renewal years have passed (Art. 347).
Unpaid rent: written notice of at least 30 days for dwellings and roofed workplaces, then termination (Art. 315).
Two justified warnings in a rental year: lawsuit within one month of the end of that year (Art. 352).
Written eviction undertaking: enforcement or lawsuit within one month of the promised date (Art. 352).
Landlord's or family's need; reconstruction: lawsuit within one month of the end of the term (Art. 350).
New owner: written notice within one month of acquisition, lawsuit after six months (Art. 351).
After eviction for need: no re-letting to others for three years; compensation of at least one year's rent (Art. 355).

Legal status of this guide. It reflects the Turkish Code of Obligations and the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law as in force, and the requirement of mandatory mediation in tenancy disputes introduced in 2023. The rules described apply to dwellings and roofed workplaces. Last updated: October 2026.

The starting point: renewal, not expiry

In leases of dwellings and roofed workplaces, unless the tenant gives notice at least fifteen days before the end of a fixed term, the contract is deemed extended for one year on the same conditions. The landlord cannot terminate the contract by relying on the expiry of the term (Art. 347). A one-year lease is therefore, from the landlord's side, an open-ended commitment.

The provisions on ending a lease by lawsuit cannot be altered to the tenant's detriment (Art. 354). A clause in the lease saying that the tenant will leave at the end of the term, that the landlord may terminate on a month's notice, or that the lease ends if the property is sold, has no effect. The grounds are those in the Code and no others.

The tenant, by contrast, may leave at the end of any term on fifteen days' notice, and during the term on the conditions the Code sets for early return.

Eviction grounds at a glance

Ground	What the landlord must do	Deadline
Unpaid rent or service charges (Art. 315)	Written notice giving at least 30 days and warning of termination; then eviction claim	After the notice period expires unpaid
Unpaid rent via enforcement office	Enforcement proceedings with a payment order containing an eviction warning	Eviction request to the enforcement court if not paid or objected to in time
Two justified warnings (Art. 352)	Two written warnings for unpaid rent in the same rental year	Lawsuit within one month of the end of the rental year
Written undertaking to vacate (Art. 352)	Apply to the enforcement office or sue	Within one month of the date undertaken
Need of landlord, spouse, descendants, ascendants or dependants (Art. 350)	Lawsuit proving genuine and compelling need	Within one month of the end of the term
Reconstruction or essential renovation (Art. 350)	Lawsuit with an approved project	Within one month of the end of the term
Need of a new owner (Art. 351)	Written notice to the tenant, then lawsuit	Notice within one month of acquisition; lawsuit after six months — or lawsuit within one month of the end of the term
Tenant owns a suitable home in the same district (Art. 352)	Lawsuit, if the landlord did not know when letting	Within one month of the end of the term
Ten renewal years completed (Art. 347)	Written notice without reasons	At least three months before the end of a renewal year
Breach of duty of care or respect for neighbours (Art. 316)	Written warning giving at least 30 days to remedy; then termination. Immediate termination for serious cases	—

Where the landlord has notified the tenant in writing, no later than the period for filing the lawsuit, that a lawsuit will be brought, the time for suing is extended by one rental year (Art. 353). A timely written notice therefore preserves a ground that would otherwise be lost.

Unpaid rent

Non-payment is the commonest ground and offers two routes.

Route 1: notice and lawsuit (Art. 315)

If the tenant does not pay rent or service charges that have fallen due after delivery of the property, the landlord may give the tenant a period in writing and declare that the contract will be terminated if payment is not made within it. For dwellings and roofed workplaces the period must be at least thirty days, running from the day after the written notice reaches the tenant. If the debt is not paid in full within the period, the landlord may terminate and sue for eviction.

The notice must state the amount and the months concerned, give the thirty days and state clearly that the lease will be terminated otherwise. Send it through a notary so that content and date of service are provable. Payment in full within the period defeats this eviction — but the notice still counts as a "justified warning" for the next ground.

Route 2: enforcement proceedings

The landlord may instead start enforcement proceedings for the unpaid rent with a request for eviction. The enforcement office serves a payment order which gives the tenant a period to pay — thirty days for dwellings and roofed workplaces — and seven days to object. If the tenant neither pays nor objects, the landlord asks the enforcement court for eviction. If the tenant objects, for example by denying the lease or the amount, the objection must be removed by the enforcement court on documentary proof or by a lawsuit. This route is faster where the lease is in writing and the default is clear. The mechanics of payment orders are explained in our guide to payment orders in Turkey.

In both routes the landlord recovers the arrears with interest. The deposit cannot simply be kept in lieu; it is accounted for at the end of the tenancy.

Two justified warnings

Where the tenant has caused the landlord to send two justified written warnings for non-payment of rent — within the lease period, for leases shorter than a year; within one rental year or a period exceeding a rental year, for leases of a year or longer — the landlord may end the lease by lawsuit brought within one month of the end of the lease period or, in longer leases, of the rental year in which the warnings were given (Art. 352).

The warnings must concern two different months' rent, each sent after the rent was due and unpaid.
Each must reach the tenant before the tenant pays. A warning that arrives after payment is not "justified".
Both must fall in the same rental year, counted from the lease's start date, not the calendar year.
It does not matter that the tenant paid after each warning. This ground exists precisely for the tenant who always pays late.
A payment order served through the enforcement office counts as a warning.

A landlord who intends to rely on this ground should send a notarial warning the day after each due date is missed, and diarise the end of the rental year.

The eviction undertaking

If the tenant, after the property has been delivered, undertakes in writing towards the landlord to vacate on a specific date and does not do so, the landlord may end the lease by applying to the enforcement office or suing within one month of that date (Art. 352).

This is the landlord's most effective tool and the one most often invalidated. Courts examine the following.

Timing. An undertaking signed on the same day as the lease, or before the tenant moved in, is treated as given under the pressure of needing the home and is invalid. It must be dated after delivery. Landlords who have tenants sign an undated undertaking with the lease and fill in the date later run a serious risk: if the tenant proves it, the undertaking fails, and the conduct may amount to an offence.
Form. Written, signed by the tenant, with a specific vacating date. A notarial undertaking cannot be challenged as to signature and date in the way a private one can.
All tenants must sign. If the property is a family home, courts look for the spouse's consent as well, since a tenant cannot terminate the lease of the family home without the express consent of his or her spouse.
The one-month window. If the landlord lets the month pass without action — or sending a written notice that extends the period — the undertaking lapses and the lease continues.

On a valid undertaking, the enforcement office serves an eviction order; if the tenant does not object to the signature or date within seven days, eviction follows without a lawsuit.

Cardboard moving boxes stacked in an empty room — Only the enforcement office may carry out an eviction. Changing the locks or cutting utilities is unlawful.

Need of the landlord or family

The landlord may end the lease by lawsuit if there is a compelling need to use the property as a dwelling or workplace for himself or herself, his or her spouse, descendants, ascendants or other persons whom the landlord is obliged by law to support (Art. 350). In fixed-term leases the lawsuit is brought within one month of the end of the term; in indefinite leases, within one month of the date determined by the general termination periods.

The need must be genuine, sincere and compelling, and the landlord must prove it. Courts look at:

where the person in need lives now — in rented accommodation, with relatives, in a property that is too small or unsuitable for health reasons, in another city from which he or she is moving;
whether the landlord owns another suitable empty property;
whether the need is current, not hypothetical — a child who will marry in a few years is not yet in need;
consistency: a landlord who recently asked for a higher rent and sued for need when it was refused will be doubted.

For a foreign owner, the typical valid cases are a decision to move to Turkey and live in the property, or to house a child who is coming to study or work. Evidence of the move — residence permit application, sale or termination of the home abroad, school or employment documents — should be assembled before filing. A wish to use the property for holidays, or to let it at a higher rent or as a short-term rental, is not a need under this provision.

The re-letting ban

A landlord who obtains eviction for need may not, without a justified reason, let the property to anyone other than the former tenant for three years. A landlord who breaches this must pay the former tenant compensation of not less than one year's rent as paid in the last rental year (Art. 355). The property need not stand empty — the person for whom it was claimed should be using it.

Buying a tenanted property

A sale does not end the lease: the buyer becomes the landlord on the existing terms. The Code gives a new owner a specific eviction ground (Art. 351). A person who acquires the property and has a compelling need to use it as a dwelling or workplace for himself or herself, spouse, descendants, ascendants or legal dependants may end the lease by a lawsuit brought after six months, provided that written notice is given to the tenant within one month of the date of acquisition. Alternatively, the new owner may exercise the right by suing within one month of the end of the lease term.

The month runs from registration of title, not from the sale contract.
The notice — by notary — must state the need. Without timely notice, the first route is lost and only the end-of-term route remains.
The need must be proved as under Article 350, and the same three-year re-letting ban applies.
If the lease has been annotated in the land registry, the buyer must respect it for the annotated period.

Buyers who intend to live in a property should check before purchase whether it is let, on what terms, and whether any undertaking exists; and should budget for the time an eviction takes. See our guide to buying property in Turkey as a foreigner.

Reconstruction and major renovation

The landlord may end the lease by lawsuit where substantial repair, extension or alteration is necessary for the rebuilding or redevelopment of the property and the property cannot be used during the works (Art. 350). Cosmetic renovation that could be done with the tenant in place does not qualify. The court expects an approved architectural project or official documentation and expert confirmation that the works require vacant possession.

After eviction on this ground, the property cannot be let in its former condition to others for three years without a justified reason, and the former tenant has a right of priority to rent the rebuilt property in its new condition and at the new rent, to be exercised within one month of the landlord's written notice (Art. 355). Buildings classified as at risk under the urban transformation legislation follow a separate administrative evacuation procedure.

The ten-year rule

At the end of the ten-year extension period, the landlord may terminate the lease without giving any reason, by notice given at least three months before the end of each subsequent extension year (Art. 347).

The count is: the initial term of the lease, plus ten extension years. Under a one-year lease, the ten extension years end at the close of the eleventh year, and the first termination can take effect at the end of the twelfth — by a notice served at least three months earlier. The notice must be written. If the tenant does not leave, the landlord sues for eviction on the basis of the termination.

In an indefinite-term lease, the landlord may terminate under the general notice provisions once ten years have passed since the start.

Misuse of the property

The tenant must use the property carefully in accordance with the contract and show due respect to those living in the building and to neighbours. Where the tenant breaches this, the landlord of a dwelling or roofed workplace may give written notice allowing at least thirty days to remedy the breach and stating that the lease will otherwise be terminated (Art. 316). No period need be given where the tenant deliberately causes serious damage, where it is clear that a period would be useless, or where the tenant's conduct is intolerable for the landlord, the other residents or the neighbours.

Typical cases are unauthorised subletting or short-term letting to tourists, use of a dwelling as a business, structural alterations, serious and repeated disturbance, and illegal activity. Evidence should be gathered before the notice: the building manager's records, neighbours' statements, police reports, online listings.

Procedure: mediation, court, enforcement

Mandatory mediation

Since September 2023, disputes arising from leases must go to mediation before a lawsuit can be filed; a claim filed without it is dismissed. Evictions pursued through the enforcement office without a judgment are outside this requirement. The landlord applies at the mediation office in the courthouse; the process normally concludes within a few weeks. A settlement reached in mediation and endorsed as enforceable has the force of a judgment — including an agreed vacating date, which is often the fastest lawful way to recover a property.

Applying to mediation must be done within the one-month windows described above, so that the lawsuit that follows is treated as timely. Do not leave it to the last days.

The court

Eviction lawsuits are heard by the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) of the place where the property is located. The landlord proves the lease, the ground and compliance with the notice and time requirements. A first-instance judgment can be appealed, and in need-based evictions the judgment is not enforced until it is final. Realistically, a contested eviction takes one to several years depending on the city and the ground.

Enforcement

A final eviction judgment, an enforceable mediation agreement or an uncontested eviction order is carried out by the enforcement office, which gives the tenant a short period to vacate and then removes the tenant and belongings with police assistance if necessary. Self-help is unlawful: changing the locks, cutting utilities, removing the tenant's belongings or entering without consent exposes the landlord to criminal complaints and damages.

Rent in the meantime

The tenant owes rent until the property is returned, and the landlord may also claim rent increases. For residential leases the annual increase on renewal is capped by statute at the twelve-month average change in the consumer price index; after five years the court may set the rent afresh by reference to comparable properties. A rent-determination lawsuit can be combined with the strategy for recovery.

Landlords abroad

Everything above can be done through a lawyer under a power of attorney covering notices, mediation, litigation and enforcement; see our guide to powers of attorney for Turkey. Rental income must be declared in Turkey; see our guide to tax residency and Turkish-source income. Letting for periods of up to one hundred days requires a permit under separate legislation; see our guide to short-term rental law.

Need your property back, or dealing with a tenant who does not pay? Send the lease, its start date and any notices already sent. Message Yayla Law on WhatsApp or use the contact form. Most grounds depend on a one-month window that cannot be recovered once missed.

Frequently asked questions

Can I evict my tenant when the lease ends?

No. Residential leases renew automatically for a year at a time. You need one of the statutory grounds, or ten completed renewal years.

How do I evict a tenant who does not pay rent?

Send a written notice, preferably through a notary, giving at least thirty days to pay and warning of termination, then sue for eviction; or start enforcement proceedings with an eviction request.

Is an eviction undertaking signed with the lease valid?

No. It must be given after the tenant has taken possession, in writing, with a specific date. You must act within one month of that date.

I want to live in my flat myself. Can I evict the tenant?

Yes, if your need is genuine and compelling, by a lawsuit filed within one month of the end of the lease term. You may not let it to anyone else for three years afterwards.

I bought a flat with a tenant in it. What are my options?

Notify the tenant in writing within one month of acquiring title that you need the property, and sue after six months; or sue within one month of the end of the lease term.

How long does eviction take in Turkey?

An uncontested enforcement eviction can take a few months. A contested lawsuit, with mediation and appeal, commonly takes a year or more.

Can I change the locks or cut the utilities?

No. That is unlawful self-help and exposes you to criminal complaints and damages. Eviction is carried out only by the enforcement office.

Can I end the lease after ten years without a reason?

Yes. After ten renewal years, by written notice at least three months before the end of a renewal year.

Is mediation compulsory before suing?

Yes for tenancy lawsuits. Evictions pursued directly through the enforcement office without a judgment are not subject to it.

Legal basis and sources

Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, Articles 315, 316, 344 and 347–355 — official consolidated text at mevzuat.gov.tr.
Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004, Articles 269–276 — mevzuat.gov.tr.
Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes (mandatory mediation in tenancy disputes).

This article provides general legal information on Turkish law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Notice and filing deadlines depend on the start date and terms of each lease.